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Not handmade

I had grand plans for my little niece’s Christmas gift this year. I was finally going to knit her a sweater. I started in October, maybe even September. The pattern was awful, I had to re-knit every section, it seemed. It took way too long, but I finished it. Then it came time to sew all the pieces together and they wouldn’t work together. Not at all. We consulted every knitting book in the house, the pattern, online help, nothing. The pattern was wrong. By now it was the week before I had to mail the gift to her, so I had to buy something online to mail to her. This is what replaced the worst knitting project ever.

pic from Mudpuppy site

I bought these magnetic vintage fashion paper dolls here and it was all I could do not to buy a set for myself. Scenes for the doll include a cafe, bakery, and an office with a typewriter. Not as good as handmade, but hopefully Alana will like them just the same.

In case you haven’t heard, handmade toys are in big trouble right now. Because of all the recalls last year the government finally stepped in and said that all toys for kids under 12 must be tested for lead. It should be obvious that large toy manufacturers should have been doing this all along. But now small time handmade toys will fall under this law as well and most will be put out of business. Lead testing will cost them thousands of dollars, and that isn’t an option for most crafters. The government is still taking comments regarding this, so please, please contact your reps and tell them to change things for the small-time people! Here’s a great link with sample letters and petitions.

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2 thoughts on “Not handmade”

sorry about the sweater… I hate it when things like that happen. I’recently knitted a sweater for zoe using a pattern from Top Down for Toddlers http://www.amazon.com/Top-Down-For-Toddlers/dp/B000M09DB0 it was very easy to follow the directions, and NO sewing! I’m borrowing the book from a friend who has also had success with it.

The federal regulations on things seem good on the surface, but can be hard on “the little guys.” this makes me think of how sweeping “food safety” regulations would cripple small farms. Irradiated veggies anyone?